Runt
by Kitten With A Tie
Summary: Dust snorted rudely. "They're never gonna come. I got my horns a quarter moon after I was born. You sill haven't gotten yours!" She got to her feet and lifted her head, showing off the brown nubs of her antlers. "Runt!" Btw, these are not deer. They're cats. XD
1. Chapter 1

_**xxx**_

_"Are they there, mama?" _the little cat asked her mother. The bigger she-cat purred and lowered her head, sniffing the smaller cat's head. "No, my child. Not yet." The cat flattened her ears and looked at her sister, whose antlers were already starting to sprout, little nubs on her brown head.

"But _when?_" the little cat persisted. Her mother laughed. "Soon, my little kit. They will sprout soon."

The kit admired her mother's horns: they were large and grey, the color of her sleek pelt. She wished hers would be gray, too, since grey was a cool color: the color of fog. "Ratchet, my daughter, your horns will come when they're ready," she mewed.

Ratchet sighed and hung her head. All of the kits in the nursery's horns were already starting to bloom - she was the only kit whose horns weren't even _there._

"I hope they come soon, mama," Ratchet stated, lifting a paw to stroke the spot where her horns would sprout.

Her mother laughed. "You're just like your father. His horns came late, too." Ratchet tilted her head. "How late?"

"When he became an apprentice," her mother said. "About a quarter moon after his apprentice ceremony." Ratchet flattened her ears at the thought of Sun announcing her an apprentice, and the apprentices giggling at her as she strolled on top of the rock without her antlers.

"But don't worry, Ratchet," her mother continued, "no cat laughed at him. Except me, of course. But he knew I was just kidding." Ratchet's mother smiled at the memory, and her eyes twinkled.

Ratchet's sister, Dust, lifted up her head, her green eyes still foggy with sleep. "Are you still asking about your horns?" Dust asked in her husky voice. Ratchet grinned. "Yeah! I can't wait for my antlers to come!"

Dust snorted rudely. "They're never gonna come. I got my horns a quarter moon after I was born. You sill haven't gotten yours!" She got to her feet and lifted her head, showing off the brown nubs of her antlers. "Runt!"

Ratchet growled. "I'm not a runt!" Even though she _was _a runt, she refused to be called a runt. "Yeah you are," taunted Dust. She swung her head roughly, her nub horns barely missing Ratchet's nose. The smaller cat jumped back- even though her horns were small, they could pack a painful hit. She wanted to flee, but she had to prove herself that she wasn't a runt.

Ratchet dodged again as Dust swung her head again, and she nipped her sister's cheek and darted away, sending a blow to her flank. "Stop that right now!" her mother snapped as Dust charged towards her sister.

"Now, settle down," growled her mother. "I have to go now; Swing's tribe is trying to cross the borders again." Ratchet watched her mother as she got to her feet and padded towards the entrance. "I'll be back," her mother said.

But she never came back.

_**xxx**_

**Alright. These cats have horns / antlers - they match their pelt color. And they live in tribes, not Clans. They do not take warrior names, yet they follow a code, and believe in StarClan. They have a way to meet in peace. Anyway... review.**

**Who likes runt Ratchet and bully Dust? :o**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright. About half a moon has passed.**

_**xxx**_

_"Ratchet! Ratchet, they're here!" _Ratchet opened her eyes as she heard a mew of surprise, and standing in front of her was Flame. "What's here?" Ratchet asked, her blue eyes wide. "Your antlers!" Flame cried, his green eyes wide. "I see them!"

Ratchet lifted up her paw and placed it on top of her head. She felt her heart beat faster as she felt something hard underneath her paw. "They're here!" She bounced up and down, yelping in ecstasy.

Flame had had his antlers for a long time: they were about as long as a small stick, with dark tips. "Congratulations," he mewed, nudging Ratchet affectionatly.

Ratchet grinned and nudged him back.

"Looks like Dust won't be your only spar partner," she teased.

Flame beamed. "Speaking of sparring, lets go spar now and show off your antlers!"

Ratchet raced out of the nursery. She had long forgotten the death of her mother: the medicine cat, Spike, said that it was neat and quick, and she would have only felt a slight pinch and heard a snap before blacking out. Dust seemed to grow more and more mean everyday, and Ratchet's heart sank as she watched Dust's green eyes light up as she caught sight of Flame, then darken when she saw who was with him.

"So, you got your horns," Dust sneered as she strolled over.

Ratchet growled. Dust's horns had grown, and were about a nose-length bigger, and the tips, like Flame's, were darker.

"Yeah!" Ratchet growled, and lowered her head and pawed at the ground, a sign that meant that she wanted to spar.

Dust grunted and lowered her head, too, clawing at the ground. Flame jumped on top of a rock and pressed his paws close together and drew himself to his full height.

"No biting," he said. "Or clawing, spitting, or snapping. Just horns." Then he lifted up his tail, and Ratchet dug her feet into the ground, hoping for a good grip. Flame threw his tail down, and everything just... exploded.

Dust lunged at Ratchet, and her larger horns knocked with Ratchet's. Ratchet yelped in surprise, but she forced her nub horns against Dust's, struggling to push the larger and stronger cat forward.

She could spot the scratch in the sand that she had to push Dust over to win. But so far, Dust had pushed her towards her line, yet Ratchet pushed as much as she could, forcing herself to endure the pain and make her baby horns work.

"Ratchet is struggling," Flame announced, "but she seems to be dealing with Dust with great strength!"

Ratchet could feel more cats surrounding them, watching with great interest. She also knew that Dust knew it too; her green eyes flashed with sudden determination, and such great cockiness Ratchet wanted to just stop pushing and sit down and stare at her sister blankly.

Ratchet quickly untangled her horns with Dust and backed away, hoping her sister would fall for the 'submissive' act. Dust did, and reared up on her hind legs and pawed at the air, yowling in victory. As she came down, Ratchet darted foward and shoved Dust with such great force, she could feel the wind knocked out of her sister.

"And Ratchet wins!" Flame yowled.

Cats cheered for the young cat, and as the cheering died down, three cats stepped towards Dust and surrounded Ratchet.

"Think that 'cause you won makes you cool?" sneered Dust. All her buddies repeated what she said.

"Yeah, you little runt!" a grey cat crowed, and Dust shoved him sharply. "Shuddup and let me talk," snapped Dust.

A sand tabby snickered, "Just 'cause you got your little stick antlers doesn't make you cool!" All three of the cats were apprentices, and their horns were large and half-grown, and the tips were darker, just like the kit's, except the darker tips covered up much of the points.

Dust crowed, "Yeah, Sand!" Ratchet wanted to groan in disgust as she watched her sister's green eyes go all moony.

Sand's antlers weren't really that awesome. They weren't very big, yet they were the color of sand, and the points were lighter, which was quite unusual.

"Just leave me alone," Ratchet muttered. "What did the little fawn say?" Sand sneered. Ratched growled.

It was considered an insult to be called a deer; they were skitterish, nervous creatures that the tribe sometimes hunted. It was normally easier to catch a fawn, or a doe that had just fawned.

"Come on, guys," a black tom said. "Lets leave her alone. I just saw Stone come in with a scrawny rabbit," he added when his friends glared at him. "Alright," muttered Sand, and he sauntered away, Dust prancing after him, and the black tom padding after. "Stay out of trouble," he called over his shoulder.

Ratchet didn't know the black tom's name, but she decided that she would try to be friends with him. She padded over towards Flame, who was rubbing his antlers on a tree stump.

Ratchet said nothing and went on the other side and began to rub her antlers, too. "Good luck rubbing those claws," Flame said teasingly. "They could take out an eye."

The grey she-cat purred. "Cut it out, Flame!" But Flame didn't. He pounced on top of the stump and began to swing his head to and fro, and Ratchet jumped on the stump too and began to dance with him.

She wished she could stay on the stump forever, dancing with Flame, swinging her antlers, feeling the wind in her fur.

But a second later, a cat stumbled into camp. His dark grey pelt was hanging out in clumps, and blood was on his pelt, and his shoulders were clawed and his body was chewed. "Help!" he wailed. One of his antlers was torn off, and there was only a stump left. "Swing's tribe attacked out patrol!"

Sun yowled, "Alright! Hawk, take half the tribe with you. Make sure that there are enough to defend camp. Tribe, move out!" Pelts swarmed about, and Flame and Ratchet were herded to the nursery.

She settled in the corner, with Flame by her side, trembling. "I have an idea," Flame announced.

Ratchet looked at him blankly. "Well?"  
"We should help."  
"How?"  
"Come on. I'll show you."

Flame ran towards the hole in the back of the nursery. She had never noticed it, since it was covered by Flame's nest. "Falls let me get my own nest," he whispered to her. "I'm glad she was gone while I dug this hole and put my nest on it!"

Ratched squeezed through the hole, and then followed her tribemate as they headed out of camp.

"This'll be fun," Flame promised.

But it wasn't.

_**xxx**_

**Thank you, ponyiowa, and mossystar, for the reviews. c:**


End file.
